The following relates to the optical microscopy arts, vacuum processing arts, focused ion beam (FIB) workstation arts, and related arts.
A focused ion beam (FIB) workstation provides a vacuum environment for performing inspection and/or processing of semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) devices, photonic devices, radio frequency (RF) circuits, microscopic biological samples, and other samples at micron or nanometer scales. A typical FIB workstation includes a vacuum chamber with tools such as one or more focused ion beam sources, one or more electron beam sources, and so forth, and may be used for tasks such as circuit tuning, failure analysis, and so forth. The vacuum chamber of a FIB workstation is typically evacuated to a base pressure on the order of about 5×10−6 mbar (3.7×10−6 torr) or lower in order to support focused ion beam and/or electron beam operations. Focused ion or electron beams can be used for tasks such as sputtering, milling, or so forth, sometimes in conjunction with a controlled flow of working gas through the vacuum chamber.